"We're going to go through this," Juringa said. "We're going to stand strong with the department and stand strong with the Bauer family."

Bauer's family, now-adult children and the family of South Florida law enforcement packed the courtroom for Tuesday's hearing.

In Franqui's defense, medical experts questioned whether Franqui was intellectually capable to be put to death for the murder that happened almost 26 years ago -- a requirement set just last March under a Supreme Court ruling.

"His actions and his confessions and his words were all calculated," Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association president John Rivera said. "It shows that he was of sound mind and he's certainly capable of killing another human being and to put all those things together."